


Running on PepperUp Fumes

by pinchess07



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cinnamon Roll Newt Scamander, Concerned Graves, Fluff, Graves Lives, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 21:31:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8940103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinchess07/pseuds/pinchess07
Summary: For a prompt on the kink meme about Newt misplacing his wand, and Graves to the rescue.Original prompt link: http://fantasticbeasts-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/459.html?thread=851915#cmt851915





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'ed.

The door leading to the Auror department was open. This was not necessarily bad. However, there were were bloody footprints leading up to it, and Percival Graves quickened his pace in mild alarm. He'd sent Goldstein and three others to a situation downtown a few hours ago, and he hadn't anticipated it to end in injuries.   
  
As he entered, however, he found not Goldstein and her team, but a certain magizoologist. Scamander was dripping with blood, from his chest down to his boots. The five other Aurors in the office were clumped around him, gawking dumbly.   
  
"Why hasn't anyone brought Scamander to the hospital? Or at least brought a healer here to take a look at him?" Graves barked out, making everyone else in the room jump. Leahy was the unfortunate fellow who met his eyes and got the full questioning stare.  
  
"Sir, he..." Leahy said, wavering and gulping loudly as Graves approached, then recovered enough to continue, "... he's not actually injured, Sir."  
  
Graves raised an eyebrow at this and took a closer look at Scamander, who was smiling somewhat sheepishly. "Oh? So who did you murder, then, Scamander? You did come here to confess your crime, didn't you?"  
  
Scamander--no, Newt, for he was Newt when he laughed at Percival's jokes-- Newt laughed, eyes crinkling with mirth. They had built a friendship on the aftermath of Percival's rescue from Grindelwald's makeshift prison, and now Newt laughs at his jokes even when no one else does. Percival found Newt's laughter irresistibly adorable. He always marveled at the fact that Newt was one of the few people who relaxed in his presence. The other Aurors, however, were all squirming nervously, very obviously uncomfortable in his presence.  
  
"I was hoping to see Tina. And you as well, but I really need to see Tina first," Newt explained.  
  
"And you couldn't have changed out of--" Percival gestured at Newt's bloody attire, "that, before you came?"  
  
"Ah. No, I mean, yes. That is, I mean, this is why I needed to see Tina," Newt babbled, arms flailing as he tried and failed to make a point.  
  
"Newt, breathe," Percival reminded him. "Tell me what happened from the beginning."  
  
Percival was already imagining Newt running afoul some poachers as he was wont to do and if it wasn't Newt that was injured, then it was probably some other creature that he tried to help instead. By the amount of blood on Newt, Percival guessed that it must have passed away despite Newt's efforts. So it was entirely surprising when Newt lit up with a radiant smile.   
  
"Margery has finally given birth!" Newt exclaimed, seemingly bouncing where he stood. "I had been standing vigil beside her for the last three days since her labor started. Her water broke about three hours ago and her vulva had swelled and elongated, you know, as they always do to make the birth easier. I was very worried when she stopped eating at the start of the week. But anyway, she pushed and pushed and eventually the legs were sticking out, and I only had to tug a bit before the whole foal was out!"  
  
Horrified silence followed after Newt's outburst. It took even Percival a few moments to recover. "...Who's Margery? And did you just say foal?"  
  
"Margery is the winged Abraxan that I rescued about six months ago. She was painfully thin then, but I made sure she recovered from the malnutrition, and she's normal-sized now. 'Bout the size of a common elephant, I'd say," Newt happily explained.   
  
"Oh, I see. And the blood?" Percival asked warily.   
  
"That was Alex, the foal. He's about the size of a normal horse, and he was stumbling around, you see? He knocked me over the tub of raw, bloody pig meat that I was keeping nearby for when Margery regained her appetite."  
  
"You're drenched from the chest down," Percival pointed out dubiously. Newt shrugged.  
  
"It was a large tub. Luckily I didn't break any of the single-malt whiskey that Margery preferred. Anyway, I needed to see Tina because...I might have misplaced my wand."   
  
The last part was mumbled so lowly and if Percival wasn't concentrating on what Newt was saying, he wouldn't have understood it. As it was, he gave Newt a look of pure disbelief.   
  
"So you... can't find your wand," Percival said flatly. Newt nodded seriously. Percival glanced at the other Aurors in the room, just in time to see them nod like Newt wasn't spouting nonsense.   
  
"You can't find your wand, and it occurred to you that what, Tina can Accio it for you? You didn't think that you could, I don't know, take a bath and change your clothes first? Have you even tried looking inside your case before you got here?"  
  
"Hey!" Newt protested. "I did look for it. And I guess you have a point about the bath. But I'm running on PepperUp fumes here, I've been up for more than forty hours, I'm sorry, I'm not entirely thinking straight..."  
  
Percival's look softened, and the other Aurors who witnessed it had to do doubletakes.   
  
"And how long have you been in the office, waiting for Tina? You didn't think to ask anyone else?" Percival said gently. "Everyone here would be willing to help you."  
  
Percival saw his colleagues nodding in agreement in his peripheral vision. Newt looked amazed, as he always did when confronted with unexpected kindness directed towards him.   
  
"Oh. W-Well, would you please, Percival...?" Was Newt's dazed reply. He really must be running on PepperUp fumes. Percival shook his head in exasperation, which confused Newt further. "...Is that a no?"  
  
"Your wand is right here, Newt," Percival said, reaching out with his left hand toward Newt's ear. Newt didn't move away or protest the gesture, so Percival went ahead and plucked the wand from where it was wedged above Newt's right ear. He presented it to Newt with a relish. Newt beamed at him as though Percival had just announced that Christmas had come early.   
  
Percival couldn't have stopped his smile even if he wanted to. He gently stroked the back of Newt's hand as he returned the wand to its rightful owner.   
  
He found himself admiring the way Newt's freckles looked when Newt was blushing.   
  
"Ahem, Director Graves, sir?" A voice timidly called out from outside the door. It was Picquery's secretary. "Madam President wanted to remind you that you had an appointment..."  
  
"...At 1600. Right," Percival confirmed, regretfully moving to follow her. He stopped and turned back to Newt, knowing he could spare at least a couple more minutes. "Newt, go clean up and get some rest, okay? Now that you've finished taking care of Margaret and Alice, you should take care of yourself."  
  
"It's Margery and Alex," Newt half-heartedly reminded him.   
  
"Right. Margery and Alex. Now, go take a bath and get some sleep, Mr. Scamander," Percival insisted. He didn't look away until Newt nodded in agreement.   
  
"You'll visit later, won't you?" Newt asked.  
  
"Yes, I will," Percival promised.   
  
"Director Graves, sir..." The secretary by the door said, looking apologetic. Graves sighed and left, already mentally thinking of ways to get his meeting finished earlier. There were two winged Abraxans that he was looking forward to meeting, and a magizoologist that would hopefully be less bloodstained when they next meet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Emmy, who asked for another chapter. This is what happened before Graves found Newt. This is also why Newt was running on Pepper Up fumes.

He is out of tea. Well, to be honest, he's been out of tea for nearly four, nope, make that four and a half hours. He's been beside Margery for three whole days, trying to ease the birth in any way he could. He hasn't slept in nearly forty hours and before that, he had only taken a twenty-minute nap, too anxious about missing the actual birth to sleep for long. He runs a hand down Margery's flank, then takes a look at her vulva. The opening had dilated maybe a few millimeters more. Margery is taking everything well, all things considered.

On the other hand, Newt admits to himself that he is a bit dizzy and lightheaded. He needs tea and he can't remember the last time he had a snack. He can't leave Margery's side, and he had given up on searching for his wand sometime around hour thirty-one. He searches his pockets for something, anything to help, and-- there!

He lifts the potion bottle out of his pocket and peers at it. Pepper Up. He perks up, until he realizes that the bottle is far too light. He uncorks it, and just as he suspected, it's empty. He bites his lip in dismay. He moves the bottle closer to his face, eyeing the inside of the bottle intently as if that would magically refill it. He sniffs at it tentatively, but even then he could only get a very faint whiff of the potion.

There's a pained cry, and the bottle tumbles out of his hands. When he runs to Margery, he sees the foal's legs sticking out of her, and he runs to help. He has a bit of a hard time gripping as the legs are wet and very slippery, but in a combination of a tug from Newt and a strong, forceful push from Margery, the foal is born onto the world.

He can't stop beaming in pride. In a few minutes, the foal is drunkely staggering around the birthing enclosure.

"Alex!" Newt exclaims. "What do you think of Alex, huh?"

The foal, newly-named Alex, heads in his general direction, getting better and better at walking by the minute. Five feet away, it steps on the Pepper Up bottle that Newt had dropped earlier, and careens into Newt, in turn knocking Newt into the nearby tub of bloody, raw pig meat.

He stays in the tub for a couple of minutes, waiting for the spinning of his vision to stop. His thoughts are spinning too, _thank Merlin it's over, Alex is a very healthy foal, I need tea, I feel sticky, where's my wand, oh am I bleeding, good thing I didn't knock over the whiskey, no I'm not bleeding, I wanna show Alex to Tina and Queenie and Percival but I need to clean up first,_ all jumbled together.

He giggles, and there's a note of hysteria in it. _Tina can help me find my wand and clean me up and meet Alex--_

It takes almost all of Newt's remaining strength to haul himself out of the tub. He pats Alex, whispers _I'll be right back_ to Margery, trudges out of his case slowly, and then Apparates to MACUSA.

He's not entirely sure how he gets to the Auror office, but he gets there eventually. Tina is not inside, so he waits for her to come.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope it wasn't too OOC. I'd love to know what you think on the comments! :)
> 
> Find me on tumblr @pollethelazy


End file.
